Dark Forest Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 20,624 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ALLETE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,592,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,971,000 after buying an additional 20,245 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in ALLETE by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 398,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,825,000 after buying an additional 30,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 368,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,854,000 after buying an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on ALLETE in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock.

ALLETE Stock Performance

ALE traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $65.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 454,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,869. The company's 50-day moving average is $65.25 and its 200-day moving average is $65.06. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.51 and a 52 week high of $65.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.08.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is currently 94.19%.

ALLETE Profile

ALLETE, Inc operates as an energy company. The company operates through Regulated Operations, ALLETE Clean Energy, and Corporate and Other segments. It generates electricity from coal-fired, biomass co-fired / natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. In addition, the company provides regulated utility electric services in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 13,000 natural gas customers, and 10,000 water customers, as well as regulated utility electric services in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 150,000 retail customers and 14 non-affiliated municipal customers.